In what could be described as a crashed attempt at legal theatrics, Senator Bob Menendez found himself center stage at his bribery trial in Manhattan federal court, where his past behavior might have made even seasoned politicians cringe. The trial started to sound more like a courtroom drama fit for Netflix.

In a scene straight from “Law & Order: New Jersey Edition,” ex-New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal testified that during a meeting in September 2019, Menendez pressured him to discuss an active criminal probe, a move that any first-year law student would label “inadvisable" nypost. Grewal’s deputy, Andrew Bruck, did not mince words, referring to the encounter with Menendez as, simply, "gross" cnn.

Menendez’s alleged concern was the treatment of Hispanic defendants in insurance fraud cases. While it’s wonderful to see a senator so engaged with the welfare of his constituents, it raises eyebrows when the engagement includes a request to discuss a specific insurance fraud case nypost. For his part, Menendez’s approach to influencing the legal matter could be likened to a backseat driver taking control of the steering wheel—except this time, it’s a courtroom and not a family minivan.

Menendez, known for his ability to balance multiple scandals at once, is now accused of accepting all the Greatest Hits of Bribes: a Mercedes, gold bars, and cash, all in exchange for favors to businessmen and foreign governments nypost. Jose Uribe, an associate involved in the bribery case, apparently decided cash was a good look when he gave Nadine Menendez, the senator's wife, $15,000 for a down payment on a car nypost.

Adding to this delightfully intricate plot, Menendez also faces a charge as serious as acting as a foreign agent for the Egyptian government cnn. If convicted on all counts, including the allegations of accepting bribes and foreign agent activities, Menendez could be looking at a potential decades-long stay in a federal hotel that provides neither gold bars nor Mercedes nypost.

Despite these charges, Menendez displayed a knack for subtlety; Grewal testified that Menendez didn’t make any explicit requests to kill the investigation. In diplomatic language, the senator seems to have been channeling his inner attorney, saying everything without saying anything at all nypost.

Furthermore, when subtle suggestions don’t work, why not go for the direct approach? Menendez contacted Grewal on his private line, which he managed to obtain through Grewal’s cousin cnn. One thing is clear, where there's a will, there's a way—or at least, a phone number.

The final twist in this courtroom saga? Menendez is not just dealing with accusations of bribery and acting as a foreign agent; his wife Nadine, suffering from breast cancer, is being tried separately cnn. A tough situation for any family, especially one that might soon have to correlate prison visitation schedules.

Grewal, the 14th witness in Menendez's trial, marks the fourth week of a legal battle that promises to keep delivering plot twists. Whether Menendez's attempts to play backseat lawyer will land him in the driver's seat of a cell remains to be seen. For now, all we can do is pop some popcorn and follow the case with the same intrigue reserved for a cable TV marathon cnn.